Sensory Evaluation Techniques

Over the past 30 years, the importance of sensory

evaluation has steadily increased in the food and

personal care industries. It has become an indispen-

sable tool for studying, describing, and understanding

the sensory properties of food. As with physical and

chemical instrumental analyses, sensory evaluation will

help the food scientist to determine intrinsic character-

istics of a food product and help to understand better

the effect of specific ingredients on the food’s sensory

characteristics, the effect of storage or formulation

changes, or the reasons of its acceptability by the

consumers. Because of the broad range of its applications,

an extensive body of research and studies has been

conducted to improve further the reliability of the data

collected and ensure the applicability of the results.

Even the most superficial review of the available

literature will give a sense of the complexity and

extensibility of sensory measurements. Nevertheless

there is a false impression of simplicity and triviality

associated with sensory evaluation in the food industry,

so that the means and care involved in the studies are

less than adequate. One of the objectives of this chapter

is to allow the food scientist to become aware of the

broad applicability of sensory evaluation techniques,

the numerous pitfalls that can be encountered when

conducting studies, and the ways to avoid them. This chapter is organized in successive sections

describing various aspects of the sensory techniques.